Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $342.12 and last traded at $340.1570, with a volume of 349658 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $336.28. Get Alphabet alerts: Sign Up Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several...
Shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $342.12 and last traded at $340.1570, with a volume of 349658 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $336.28. Get Alphabet alerts: Sign Up Key Headlines Impacting Alphabet Here are the key news stories impacting Alphabet this week: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities set a $279.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Alphabet from $300.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on Alphabet in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $327.13. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Alphabet Alphabet Stock Performance The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.59, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $319.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The information services prov...
Sam Altman-tied WLD token jumps on OpenAI "biometric" rumors World Network's WLD token skyrocketed over 27% on reports that OpenAI is building a "biometric social network." Sam Altman is reportedly eyeing the "World Orb" and Apple's Face ID to verify users. Will humans win this war against AI bots with digital identity? CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."
Sam Altman-tied WLD token jumps on OpenAI "biometric" rumors World Network's WLD token skyrocketed over 27% on reports that OpenAI is building a "biometric social network." Sam Altman is reportedly eyeing the "World Orb" and Apple's Face ID to verify users. Will humans win this war against AI bots with digital identity? CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie hosts "CoinDesk Daily."
Sun Shaocheng. Photo: VCG China’s top anticorruption body said Thursday that it is investigating Sun Shaocheng, a senior Communist Party official long regarded as a political fixer sent to clean up corruption-prone ministries and regions. Sun, 65, is a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and formerly the party chief of resource-rich Inner Mongolia. The Central Commission for Discipli...
Sun Shaocheng. Photo: VCG China’s top anticorruption body said Thursday that it is investigating Sun Shaocheng, a senior Communist Party official long regarded as a political fixer sent to clean up corruption-prone ministries and regions. Sun, 65, is a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee and formerly the party chief of resource-rich Inner Mongolia. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a brief statement that he is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” — a phrase commonly used to refer to corruption investigations. He joins a growing list of senior cadres targeted this year, including Tian Xuebin, Li Xu, and Gu Jun.
Then They Told Us They Would Increase The Payout By 0.09% Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images We began covering Humana Inc. ( HUM ) two years ago. At the time, we were skeptical that the long term story was intact and gave it a "Sell". Seeking Alpha Our more recent coverage has been neutral as the company sported a mediocre valuation and had higher than average risks. Last time we wrote ...
Then They Told Us They Would Increase The Payout By 0.09% Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images We began covering Humana Inc. ( HUM ) two years ago. At the time, we were skeptical that the long term story was intact and gave it a "Sell". Seeking Alpha Our more recent coverage has been neutral as the company sported a mediocre valuation and had higher than average risks. Last time we wrote about it, we gave it a "hold" with the suggestion that the best way to make money, would be to use covered calls. We delve into the recent earnings and news and tell you where we stand. The Big Picture Humana is grappling with two big problems. The first being that their costs continue to go up faster than their revenues. This is reflected in their trailing 12 month profit margins. Data by YCharts They are struggling with rising expenses that keep moving faster than their revenues. The second problem had to do with the unfortunate incident with their Medicare Advantage Star Ratings. These ratings determine the federal bonus payments Humans gets. A drop below 4 stars means losing a 5% revenue bonus per member, which was formerly flowing almost entirely to the bottom line. In 2024 (bonus for year 2025) about 93% of Humana's members were in 4 star or higher rated programs. In 2025 (bonus year 2026) this dropped to 25%. Humana claimed this was due to narrowly missing cutoff points on a single large contract which covers majority of its members. Humana even sued CMS for the alleged errors, but that hasn't worked out. The Next Chapter The bonus payment issue has been well known for a long time and the earnings estimates for 2026 reflect this. Seeking Alpha The latest developments were on the pricing for 2026 revenue changes for Medicare Advantage. Two days back, CMS released the 2027 Advance Notice for Medicare Advantage payment rates. The proposal was a shock to the industry in general and Humana in particular. The "offering" was a net revenue increase of only 0.09%. While some ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financials) Chief Executive Tim Cook told employees he was heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of a man by federal agents, adding that he had privately discussed the situation with former President Donald Trump. In a memo that The Wall Street Journal saw, Cook asked for de escalation and said that America is ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Apple Inc. (AAPL, Financials) Chief Executive Tim Cook told employees he was heartbroken by the events in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of a man by federal agents, adding that he had privately discussed the situation with former President Donald Trump. In a memo that The Wall Street Journal saw, Cook asked for de escalation and said that America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals and treat people with dignity and respect. He said he liked that Trump was willing to talk about the matter when they talked earlier this week. People were upset that Cook went to a White House banquet just hours after Alex Pretti, a nurse, was killed. This has led to protests and fresh discussions about how accountable the police should be. The statement shows that Cook is still involved in social and political concerns, which is a good balance between Apple's public image as a business leader and investors' expectations that the company will be impartial. Analysts say that what a CEO says about national issues might affect the reputation and market of multinational brands.
thamerpic/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Glencore ( GLCNF ) ( GLNCY ) +1.8% in London trading Thursday, off earlier gains, after reporting copper production dropped by 11% in FY 2025, but higher copper grades and recoveries at several mines raised output in H2 by nearly 50% from H1. Glencore ( GLCNF ) ( GLNCY ) said it produced 851,600 metric tons of copper in 2025, at the lower end of its earl...
thamerpic/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Glencore ( GLCNF ) ( GLNCY ) +1.8% in London trading Thursday, off earlier gains, after reporting copper production dropped by 11% in FY 2025, but higher copper grades and recoveries at several mines raised output in H2 by nearly 50% from H1. Glencore ( GLCNF ) ( GLNCY ) said it produced 851,600 metric tons of copper in 2025, at the lower end of its earlier forecast of 850K-875K tons, but H2 production of ~500K tons was nearly 50% above H1. FY 2025 g old production fell 18% Y/Y, while steelmaking coal production jumped 63% to 32.5M tons after getting a boost from the Elk Valley Resources business, which the company acquired in July 2024, cobalt output fell 5% to 36,100 tons, nickel fell 7% to 71,900 tons, and zinc production improved 7% to 969,400 tons. The company guided for FY 2026 copper production of 810K-870K tons, in part because of lower ore grades and water constraints at the Collahuasi mine in Chile. Glencore ( GLCNF ) ( GLNCY ) and the copper markets have hit their stride at the right time and will no doubt help the miner's conversations with Rio Tinto on a possible combination of some or all of their businesses, RBC Capital analysts said in a note. More on Glencore Glencore and Venezuelan Oil: Who Wins? Who Loses? Rio Tinto And Glencore: A Merger That Could Change The Investment Case Glencore: Rio Tinto Rumours, But Valuation Catches Up And Execution Risks Rise (Rating Downgrade)
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos‘ net worth increased by $5.7 billion to $266 billion on Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after the e-commerce giant’s shares rose on plans to shut physical stores. Until last week, six of the top 10 billionaires lost wealth weeks into 2026, but the Amazon founder gained $300 million. Don't Miss: Bezos stands as the world's t...
Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos‘ net worth increased by $5.7 billion to $266 billion on Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after the e-commerce giant’s shares rose on plans to shut physical stores. Until last week, six of the top 10 billionaires lost wealth weeks into 2026, but the Amazon founder gained $300 million. Don't Miss: Bezos stands as the world's third-richest person, just behind Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) co-founder Larry Page. The top title is still retained by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk with a net worth of $677 billion. Amazon Shifts Grocery Strategy To Delivery Amazon's shares rose after it announced the closure of its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores. The company will shift focus to its online same-day delivery service and plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods locations in the coming years. The company is not only expanding its fulfillment and delivery initiatives but also accelerating plans to open more physical stores to compete with Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Target (NYSE:TGT), and Costco (NASDAQ:COST). Amazon is already expanding its grocery delivery footprint, putting pressure on competitors like Instacart. Read Next: It’s no wonder Jeff Bezos holds over $250 million in art — this alternative asset has outpaced the S&P 500 since 1995, delivering an average annual return of 11.4%. Here’s how everyday investors are getting started. Why Billionaires Like Warren Buffett Prefer Real Assets Over Speculation—Institutional Real Estate Is Now Accessible to Individuals Image via Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga: This article Jeff Bezos's Net Worth Jumps $5.7 Billion As Amazon Shares Rise On Plans To Shutter Stores originally appeared on Benzinga.com
Shares of Microsoft are down 11.7% in Thursday trading after the company reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates but failed to satisfy investor expectations around Azure cloud growth and AI infrastructure spending. Earnings Beat Fails to Impress Microsoft posted non-GAAP EPS of $4.14 on revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter ended ... What Went Wrong With Microsof...
Shares of Microsoft are down 11.7% in Thursday trading after the company reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates but failed to satisfy investor expectations around Azure cloud growth and AI infrastructure spending. Earnings Beat Fails to Impress Microsoft posted non-GAAP EPS of $4.14 on revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter ended ... What Went Wrong With Microsoft and Why Its Down Big Today
Quick Read Microsoft fell 11.7% despite beating estimates as Azure’s 39% growth disappointed expectations. Quarterly capex surged 65% to $37B, raising investor concerns about AI infrastructure returns. Nearly half of Microsoft’s $625B backlog is tied to AI model makers including OpenAI. Investors rethink 'hands off' investing and decide to start making real money Shares of Microsoft are down 11.7%...
Quick Read Microsoft fell 11.7% despite beating estimates as Azure’s 39% growth disappointed expectations. Quarterly capex surged 65% to $37B, raising investor concerns about AI infrastructure returns. Nearly half of Microsoft’s $625B backlog is tied to AI model makers including OpenAI. Investors rethink 'hands off' investing and decide to start making real money Shares of Microsoft are down 11.7% in Thursday trading after the company reported fiscal second-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates but failed to satisfy investor expectations around Azure cloud growth and AI infrastructure spending. Earnings Beat Fails to Impress Microsoft posted non-GAAP EPS of $4.14 on revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, topping consensus estimates of $3.92 and $80.28 billion respectively. Net income surged 60% year over year to $38.5 billion. Despite the quantitative beat, shares dropped 7% in after-hours trading Wednesday and extended losses through Thursday morning. The selloff centers on Azure cloud growth, which came in at 39% year over year. While strong in absolute terms, the figure appears to have missed informal Wall Street expectations for continued acceleration. Investors also questioned the company's massive AI infrastructure spending, with capital expenditures hitting $37 billion in the quarter, up 65% year over year. 24/7 Wall St. · 24/7 Wall St. Capex Concerns Weigh on Sentiment Stifel cut its price target from $640 to $520 following the results, citing margin compression from AI infrastructure and talent costs. CFO Amy Hood attempted to reassure investors that GPU depreciation risks are mitigated by pre-contracted useful life agreements, but the message failed to offset concerns about return on investment. Nearly half of Microsoft's $625 billion backlog is tied to AI model makers, including OpenAI, raising questions about whether Azure growth justifies the unprecedented spending. The company's Q2 capex of $37 billion marks the hi...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET CALL PARTICIPANTS Chief Executive Officer — Alan Shepard Chief Operating Officer — Navneet Behl Chief Financial Officer — Everett Good Vice President, Investor Relations — Tyler Lewis Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] TAKEAWAYS Capital Expenditures (CapEx) -- Approximately 60% of annual CapEx sch...
Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 10 a.m. ET CALL PARTICIPANTS Chief Executive Officer — Alan Shepard Chief Operating Officer — Navneet Behl Chief Financial Officer — Everett Good Vice President, Investor Relations — Tyler Lewis Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] TAKEAWAYS Capital Expenditures (CapEx) -- Approximately 60% of annual CapEx scheduled for the first half of the year, providing flexibility to accelerate completion activity in the second half if warranted by market conditions. -- Approximately 60% of annual CapEx scheduled for the first half of the year, providing flexibility to accelerate completion activity in the second half if warranted by market conditions. Production Profile -- Guidance points to flat production across the full year, despite the front-half weighted CapEx deployment. -- Guidance points to flat production across the full year, despite the front-half weighted CapEx deployment. Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) 45Z Tax Credit Revenue -- Current guidance implies an annual run rate of $30 million, pending final regulatory guidance. -- Current guidance implies an annual run rate of $30 million, pending final regulatory guidance. Deep Utica Program Activity -- Five Utica laterals are scheduled for completion this year; three deep Utica wells turned inline in the quarter, with average costs of approximately $1,700 per foot and performance in line with expectations. -- Five Utica laterals are scheduled for completion this year; three deep Utica wells turned inline in the quarter, with average costs of approximately $1,700 per foot and performance in line with expectations. Spacing Evaluation -- Two Utica spacing tests underway, evaluating 1,300-foot and 1,500-foot spacings. -- Two Utica spacing tests underway, evaluating 1,300-foot and 1,500-foot spacings. Coal Mine Methane Volumes -- Slight downtick in volumes compared to the prior year, attributed to underlying mining activity; volume stabil...
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images Shares of International Paper ( IP ) have been a very poor performer over the past year, losing about 30% of their value. Shares have been weighed down by weak demand, given lackluster consumer goods consumption. Beyond this, optimism around its D.S. Smith deal has faded as investors question the ability to quickly generate synergies and potential struct...
Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images Shares of International Paper ( IP ) have been a very poor performer over the past year, losing about 30% of their value. Shares have been weighed down by weak demand, given lackluster consumer goods consumption. Beyond this, optimism around its D.S. Smith deal has faded as investors question the ability to quickly generate synergies and potential structural margin challenges in Europe. On Thursday, IP announced mixed results and a shocking decision to split into two companies, sending shares up modesty in early trading. I last covered International Paper in June , rating the stock a “buy,” and this has been a poor recommendation with shares losing about 12% since then. With updated financials, now is a good time to revisit IP to see if performance can improve in 2026. Seeking Alpha Q4 was weak, weighed down by maintenance costs In the company’s fourth quarter , International Paper lost $0.08, missing estimates by $0.33 on revenue of $6 billion. During the quarter, the company took a $2.5 billion goodwill impairment, which speaks to the underperformance of M&A transactions given the weak packaging environment. There was also a $160 million restructuring charge as part of its ongoing cost cuts. Adjusted EBITDA excluding these items was $760 million, and for the year, International Paper generated $2.98 billion. Looking first at results, North American EBITDA declined by $95 million to $560 million, about $60 million of this was due to planned business closures and $41 million due to higher maintenance activity (which can vary significantly by quarter). For the full year, EBITDA was up 37% to $2.2 billion. While much of its Q4 decline was due to timing factors, the business clearly also faced some organic deceleration that bears monitoring. I expect H1 2026 results to be weaker than H2 given maintenance timing. On the positive side, given the prolonged slump in demand, we have seen the sector respond with ongoing capacity re...
J. Michael Jones/iStock Editorial via Getty Images This might be an unpopular opinion , b ut one stock that I have been bearish on for quite some time now is Winmark Corporation ( WINA ). For those not familiar with the business, it focuses on franchising out retail concepts. Examples here include Plato’s Closet, Once Upon A Child, Play It Again Sports, Style Encore, and Music Go Round. This diver...
J. Michael Jones/iStock Editorial via Getty Images This might be an unpopular opinion , b ut one stock that I have been bearish on for quite some time now is Winmark Corporation ( WINA ). For those not familiar with the business, it focuses on franchising out retail concepts. Examples here include Plato’s Closet, Once Upon A Child, Play It Again Sports, Style Encore, and Music Go Round. This diversification is encouraging in and of itself. And the company does have a good track record of growth. On top of this, its business model means that profit margins are massive compared to other players in the retail space. But unfortunately, especially considering its growth, the stock is horrifically overpriced. Since I originally rated it a "Sell" back in May 2024, the stock has risen 27.3%. That compares to the 32.3% rise of the S&P 500 over the same period. However, it is important to note that whenever I rate a company a "Sell," I don't necessarily expect the stock to fall. I only expected to underperform the market. So in that sense, my call has proven to be successful. More recently, however, the market seems to be moving in my direction on the matter. Since I reaffirmed the company as a "Sell" candidate back in September 2025 , the stock has dropped 9.3%. The S&P 500 is up 4.9% in that window of time. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see this return disparity continue, even though the company is doing a fine job in many respects. Shares Are Overpriced Author - SEC EDGAR Data From a purely fundamental standpoint, Winmark is doing a fine job. Take the most recent quarter as an example. This would be the third quarter of the company's 2025 fiscal year . In that time, revenue came in at $22.6 million. That's up slightly from the $21.5 million the company reported a year earlier. This rise in revenue might seem small considering that the number of locations in operation grew from 1,343 to 1,377 over that window of time, with its Plato’s Closet and Once Upon A Child...
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images Q4 2025 Market Review The Small Cap Focus Fund ( DSCPX ) declined 4.47% during the fourth quarter, finishing the year down 7.26%. This compared to quarterly and annual gains of 2.19% and 12.81%, respectively for the Russell 2000® Index. This was a disappointing close to a challenging year for the strategy. As we have chronicled throughout the year, 2025 was ...
syahrir maulana/iStock via Getty Images Q4 2025 Market Review The Small Cap Focus Fund ( DSCPX ) declined 4.47% during the fourth quarter, finishing the year down 7.26%. This compared to quarterly and annual gains of 2.19% and 12.81%, respectively for the Russell 2000® Index. This was a disappointing close to a challenging year for the strategy. As we have chronicled throughout the year, 2025 was a perfect storm of sorts for our strategy. Our value bias, quality focus and tendency to avoid momentum left us with little exposure to many of the unprofitable, speculative and momentum driven stories that dominated index returns. Conversely, many attempts to be contrarian proved to be early or wrong. While we are disappointed with the way the year unfolded, we remain optimistic about the Fund’s positioning and remain as committed as ever to the process that has allowed us to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns since inception. Fund Update Contributors: Kirby Corp ( KEX ) and Golden Entertainment Inc. ( GDEN ) emerged as top performers during the period, each rewarding our patience and efforts to add to the positions amid prior periods of underperformance. KEX responded to better results and a more aggressive share repurchase program. GDEN advanced alongside the announcement it has agreed to be taken private by a consortium of investors including Founder and CEO Blake Sartini along with gaming REIT VICI Properties Inc. ( VICI ). In the case of GDEN, we have nearly exited the position given the stock’s narrow discount to the takeout price. Digital infrastructure asset manager Digital Bridge Group Inc. ( DBRG ) was also the beneficiary of a takeout announcement, sending the shares up north of 30% for the quarter. Here again, we elected to exit the position. Detractors: Key detractors included Cable One Inc. ( CABO ), Janus International Group Inc. ( JBI ) and Trex Company Inc. ( TREX ). CABO gave up the stock’s attempt at a recovery in Q3 and is back to sporting an astoun...